Books
by Kate Summerscale
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Mrs Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady |
1858's new divorce laws resulted in hundreds of petitions, the most salacious of which was that of Henry Robinson who, using his wife's stolen diary as evidence, cited for adultery. Lucid and sensual, dozens of pages were read out in court and published with relish by the newspapers. A work of imagination, as Isabella claimed, or did she really have an affair with handsome Edward Lane who faced ruined if its contents were true? Read to find out.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 65 Summer 2012) |
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The Haunting of Alma Fielding |
The late 30's - a psychical researcher investigates a suburban housewife's links with the supernatural: fraud, genuine or both? The focus widens to the researcher himself, the bereavement-fed psychic movement and the growing influence of psychology as an explanatory tool. In the background, war is coming step by step. Some of this feels like padding and the mystery is not very mysterious but for me the main interest was the insights into working class life and mores.
(Tony Pratt - bwl 99 Winter 2021) |
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The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place |
A run down inner London suburb was the setting for a notorious serial murderer, Christie, and the enduring question of whether Timothy Evans was unjustly hanged for murder. Tabloid crime reporters were unscrupulous and influential players in this story but the seedy and perverted Christie is the centrepiece of the book. Much of the appeal of true crime writing lies in the insight it gives into lives and ways of life and how they differ from now, and Kate Summerscale is a skilled guide in this territory.
(Tony Pratt - bwl 116 Spring 2025) |
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The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House |
A secluded Victorian mansion, an extended family ruled by a severe father, a three-year-old boy callously and gruesomely murdered, an astute detective ahead of his time....all the classic 'whodunit' ingredients. However, this true murder case in 1860 inspired a generation of writers and influenced the development not only of the detective profession but of the detective novel. Minutely researched and brilliantly brought to life, a must for historians and mystery addicts alike.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 47 September 2008) |
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The Wicked Boy |
1895, a blistering summer, Robert, 13, (addicted to penny-dreadfuls like today's young to their phones) and Nattie, 12, treat themselves to days at Lord's, trips to the seaside and to the theatre; father is at sea, mother in Liverpool - or is she? Suspicions are aroused, there's a strange smell - step-by-step with immense skill Summerscale unfurls the crime, the trial and the redemption beginning in Broadmoor's enlightened regime, continuing through WW I and ending in Australia. Fascinating.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 81 Summer 2016) |
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